Life-saving apparatus.



Jl LE BLANC.

LIFE SAVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 8, 1912.

Patented 0111.111913.

OSEPH LE BLANC, OF GLADSTONE, MICHIGAN.

LIFELSAVING ABPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 9ct. 14,1913.

Application led November 8, 1912. Serial No. 730,298.

T o a'ZZ 107mm t may concern Be it known that 1, Josnrrr Ln BLANC, a

citizen of the United States, residing at j Gladstone, in the county of Delta and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful i plemental floats 11 of the catamaran form i which are associated with the deck in such manner as will prevent the listing of the `structure withoutincreasing the resistance Iinprovements in Life-Saving Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to life saving apparatus and particularly to an improvement in the apparatus disclosed in a patent granted to me October 16, 1906, No. 833,608, an object of the improvement being to provide a structure of minimum proportion with an increased buoyant surface and to arrange said surfaces whereby they will offer little resistance to the movements of the apparatus under the action of the propelling means.

Another object of the invention is to provide propelling mechanism for the apparatus which will include a propelling shaft capable of adjustments vertically beneath the buoyant sustaining surfaces and adapted to be extended to any degree into the water.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consist-s of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

1n the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section therethrough, showing the propelling shaft in an elevated position in full lines and in a lowered position in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

The apparatus comprises a buoyant deck 1 having walls 2 and 3 spaced relatively through connecting sides or portions 4, so as to provide an intervening air-tight compartment 5. Brackets 6 are disposed along the longitudinal sides of the deck and as illustrated each of said brackets is constructed of a single length of sheet metal bent upon itself to present embracing straps 7 beneath the deck 1 and attaching portions 8 above said deck, said portions 3 being secured in any suitable well known manner to the deck and then extended vertically as at 9, above the deck where they are secured to a railing 10. The railing 10 is preferably located at such position above the level of the deck 1 where it may be grasped by the hands of persons when in lying positions upon the deck thereby forming a guard to prevent the persons from being accidentally thrown from the apparatus when the latter 1s tossing over rough seas.

The straps 7 have mounted therein supto the structure in its movements. These supplemental floats are adapted to Vrest upon the surface of the water and to sustain the deck 1 slightly above the surface of the water under normal conditions. 1t is said that should one of the supplemental floats 11 become punctured or destroyed, the deck 1 will be lowered into floating contact with the water and thereby prevent sinking' of the structure.

The propelling mechanism comprises a propelling shaft 12 including sections 13 and 14, the latter terminating slightly within the stern of the vessel and having mounted thereon a propelling wheel 15 of some suitable well known construction. The section 13 of the shaft isj ournaled in abearing 16 which is disposed between and mounted on oppositely arranged straps 7 of the structure as shown in Fig. 4. The sections 14 and 15 are connected through a universal joint 17 so as to permit the sections to be adjusted angularly with relation to each other when it is desired to effect an operative propelling position of the propeller 15 in the water. A driven gear wheel 1S on the shaft section 13 is arranged in intermeshing engagement with a relatively large driving gear wheel 19 upon a controlling shaft 20, the lattei1 being mounted in suitable journals in the floating deck 1 and provided above the deck with a crank handle 21 which may be manually operated so that power may be transmitted to the propeller. An intermediate portion of the shaft section 14 is mounted in a bearing 22. This bearing is swiveled at 23 to a regulating screw 24. Said screw extends through a correspondingly threaded fixed sleeve in the deck 1 and it is pro-vided above the deck with an actuating wheel 25 which may be operated so as to cause the screw 24 to move longitudinally in its receiving sleeve of the deck and thereby effect the desired adjustments of the propeller.

At the stern, the apparatus is provided with a rudder 26, which is connected through controlling cables 27 with an actuating member 28 upon the' deck whereby the apparatus may be steered in any direction. Through theJ construction of the propelling shaft and the adjusting means therefor, it is also evident that it may be folded whereby the whole apparatus will assume a compact mass for shipment or storage.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construct-ion and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted toI without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invent-ion, as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what l cla-im is 1. A device of the character described comprising a Heating deck, spaced buoyant members underlying the deck, brackets secured to the sides of the deck and extending therebelo-w and having portions embracing said buoyant bodies, a bearing connecting the embracing portions of the bracket with each other and forming a brace between said buoyant bodies, a second bearing underlying the deck and alined with the first bearing, propelling means located between the buoyant bodies and supported by said alined bearings and including a section adjustable relatively of the lower surface of said buoyant bodies, and means for moving the section.

2. In a. device of the character described, the combination with a pair of spaced air tight compartments comprising floats, of another air tight compartment supported above said floats and constituting a deck normally arranged above the surface of the water, and adapted to also act as a float in case of injury to either of the lower compartments, said deck compartment extending laterally to the outer edges of the lower floats and forwardly beyond said floats.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH LE BLANC.

Witnesses:

PHIL HUPY, WILLIAM J. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

